1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to scooters, and more particularly to a foldable scooter.
2. Description of Related Art
Various foldable scooters are shown in the prior art. Modem examples of foldable scooters are shown in Cianchetti, W. O. 95/34461, McGreen, W. O. 98/46475, and Ouboter, W. O. 00290. Older examples of various scooters are shown in Powell, U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,129 and Salsbury, U.S. Pat. No. 2,111,691. While these scooters reduce size in a stored form, they sometimes sacrifice strength and safety for portability. A known problem of many collapsible scooters is that they can collapse following rigorous use. Since the collapse of the scooter can cause grave injury to the user, it is highly desirable to provide a scooter that is portable, but still very strong and resistant to collapse during use.
The prior art teaches various foldable scooters. However, the prior art does not teach a foldable scooter having the strength and reliability of the present invention. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides further related advantages as described in the following summary.
The present invention teaches certain benefits in construction and use which give rise to the objectives described below.
The present invention provides a foldable scooter that can be folded from an assembled configuration to a compact configuration. The scooter has a frame having a head tube attached to a front end, the head tube being shaped to rotatably accept a steering column attached to a yoke, the yoke rotatably mounting a front wheel. At least one strut is pivotally attached to the yoke. A handlebar stem, having a handlebar at an upper end and a cap receiving portion at a lower end, is attached to a mounting bracket that is slidably mounted upon at least one strut, enabling the handlebar stem to slide between a lowered position in which the cap receiving portion operatively engages the steering cap, and a raised position in which the cap receiving portion is lifted clear of the steering cap.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a foldable scooter having advantages not taught by the prior art.
Another objective is to provide a foldable scooter that can be collapsed to a small size when not in use.
A further objective is to provide a foldable scooter that does not collapse when in use, despite rigorous treatment.